Cho's Date
by BFangz
Summary: Cho feels his social life is limited, so he take a chance with a random encounter, hoping for the best.  Isn't it odd how things never go as expected?  Maybe odd is one word.  Cho may have others.
1. Meeting

**Cho's Date**  
Meeting

The dim light was soothing, though the musty smell was slightly irritating. The space between the rows of shelves was narrow and confining, but necessary to accommodate the number of books that had been crowded into the used book store. From the outside, it would be easy to miss the small plaque that read, "Kang's Used Books." You'd not find it listed in a search engine, nor would you find it in the yellow pages. Kang's was discovered by accident or by being referred to it by someone who knew of it. Cho considered it his primary resource for adding to his growing collection of books.

The tiny penlight in his mouth allowed him to aim the surprisingly bright beam at the books in the dim aisle while permitting him the use of both hands. He was near the back of the store, a remarkably long distance, considering the width of the establishment. One of the first impressions the store would make upon entering is that of a book lined cave, extending into unseen dimness. There was some degree of organization to the stacked books and Kang seemed to know where every book he owned was. Cho was in the science fiction area and was just browsing. Today, he had nothing special in mind. This Saturday, he was hoping to have the entire day off. He was, of course, on call, but it was possible to get lucky and have the entire day with no crimes ruining the relaxation.

He'd learned to bring a small, soft brush with him to dust of the spines of some of the books in more obscure corners. Dusting apparently was not one of Kang's strong points, at least not back in the far recesses of "the cave." He was, almost sub-vocally, humming and hearing in his head a Korean version of "The Phantom of the Opera." He didn't really speak Korean, but he liked love the sound of the language, as it brought back some pleasant memories of his mother. He brushed one particularly dusty book and froze. The jacket was torn, with a small stain on it, but the title, "I, robot." and the author, "Isaac Asimov." He felt his heart skip a beat as he carefully pried it from between the surrounding books. He opened the jacket and braced himself as he saw the ornate signature of the author. "A signed edition," he whispered, nearly dropping the flashlight from his mouth.

"Excuse me," a soft, female voice said. "May I get by you?"

He turned to face the voice, shining the light from his flashlight directly into her eyes. He quickly reached up with his free hand and snatched it from his mouth, but not before he noticed the deepest, bluest eyes that he'd ever seen. "Excuse me," he apologized. He paused, not sure of what to say next, but she saved him the trouble.

"Oh, no! You have it." She looked like she was about to cry. "I've been looking for that book for over a year, now, and I thought I finally had one." Her eyes were focused on the book in his hand. "Please say that you're just browsing and not going to buy it."

Cho looked at the book in his hand and got a vision of that book sprouting wings and flying away from him. He really loved Asimov and would dearly love to have a signed edition by him.

She was crestfallen. "You're going to buy it, aren't you?" She shifted from foot to foot. "I just know you're going to buy it." She stared into his eyes, looking very sad, but not pleading. For her, looking into his eyes was easy. She was almost as tall as he, maybe an inch or less shorter, very dark hair, in striking contrast to her deep blue eyes and a pale complexion. "You are going to buy it, aren't you?"

_Come on Cho, don't mess this up. Speak in sentences, like Jane said. She's beautiful! _Cho smiled. "That was my plan, but I'd hate to cause you pain." He smiled. "Would it cause you pain?"

She smiled, hope showing in her eyes. Then she grinned. "Sir, it would absolutely cause me a myriad of agonies!"

Cho solemnly shook his head. "Sir? Sir?" He smiled. "My commanding officer was Sir. I'm simply Cho, but you can call me anything you want to."

She grinned. "Except late for dinner?"

Cho nodded and in his normal deadpan manner: "Except that. I'm a growing boy." _How do I ask her out? What do I say, next. I hate this. I really hate not knowing what to say._

"I'll make you a deal. Since you are a growing boy, and don't want to be called late for dinner, if you let me have that book, I'll treat you to a home cooked, really good dinner. AND it will be ready on time, not late at all!"

Cho felt his stomach lurch. "You drive a hard bargain."

Before he could continue, she put her hand on his arm in an imploring manner. "I'm a really good cook, and I can be really good company. I'll tell you funny jokes and maybe even sing a song or two."

_She amazing! Things like this don't happen to me. _"You are making a very convincing case for your position. Just when would this dinner be?"

"Any time of your choice. Tonight, now, any time you want! Will you do it, please? Will you?"

Cho couldn't help himself. He laughed.

He expression quickly changed and she delivered one of the cutest pouts that Cho had ever witnessed. "Now, you're laughing at me."

Her expression was so forlorn that he wondered if she was actually that sensitive or if she was just kidding. _Let's not take any chances here. _"I can't imagine ever laughing at you. I'm laughing with you!"

"But I'm not laughing," she started as he handed her the book. Her eyes lit up and she did let an exclamatory laugh. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight enough to make him grunt. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she whispered into his ear causing him to quiver with suppressed excitement. "I really do owe you big time. Now, when do you want your dinner?"

oOo

The day had passed very slowly for Cho, each hour seeming like an eternity filled with the potential for the disastrous phone call that would call him back to the CBI office and fill his evening with a case and not the company of an exciting lady who clearly loved books and claimed to be an excellent cook.

When eight PM approached, he was freshly showered and dressed, ready to make the short walk to Lisa's apartment. He glared at his cell phone, daring it to ring, before he put it into his belt holster. He slipped on a sweat shirt, the evening was cooler than expected. For some strange reason, he felt butterflies in his stomach as he exited his apartment building.

oOOOo

**A/N: It's been awhile since I've done a Cho story. It's been rough getting this one going. I hope you all enjoy. Now, offer some encouragement. I suspect I'm going to need it. Now, Donnamour1969, you promised! **


	2. Date Night

**Cho's Date**  
Date Night

The store on the corner was familiar. Cho stopped, frowned and tried to recall why it seemed so familiar. _Ah, that was the store where the old man was killed last year. We never did solve that one. It looked like a robbery gone wrong, but nothing was left to work with. I never saw Jane so frustrated. She must be a student. _Cho frowned, not all that happy with the neighborhood. There was a private college nearby and the area was inexpensive.

The density of students and their naivete insured a higher than normal crime rate, including alcohol and drug sales. Since the entire area was "off campus" there were no campus police or any regulations to promote the safety and order for the students. They really were on their own, and far too many had problems they were not equipped to deal with. He was pleased to observe that it seemed to be a quiet Saturday evening. The faint smell of marijuana tickled his nose, but he was off duty. _I'm not a narc, anyway. Major crimes. That what we do. _

He easily climbed the three flights of stairs to Lisa's apartment. He found himself in a narrow hallway, two doors on either side and a single door at the end. As he approached the single, end door, a very tempting aroma assailed his nostrils. _Mmmmm, she wasn't kidding when she said she could cook. I wonder what's on the menu?_ His involuntary grin offered a clue that he was hoping it was more than just pasta.

Lisa opened the door before he felt the need to knock a second time. A waft of warm, humid air, filled with delicious aromas, that he'd noticed on the way up, assailed him. Lisa's hair was slightly mussed and she was wearing an apron that was stained and crooked. Cho suppressed a smile and handed her a bottle of wine. "For our pleasure later on. I've kept it chilled so you might want to put it in the refrigerator."

She took the bottle and smiled. "Oh, sparkling Blue Nun, one of my favorites." She turned and head towards the refrigerator. "Come on in. So far, the only thing that's gone right is your arrival and this bottle of wine," she said, holding it up for him to see before tucking it in that small apartment refrigerator. "Everything I've touched seems to have boiled over, splattered on me, or turned out wrong."

Cho nodded. "Had days like that. Do what I do when it all goes wrong."

"What's that," she asked.

"Duck and hope the bad guy is a bad shot." Cho smiled.

oOo

Cho put his chop sticks down and sighed. "That was very good, Lisa. You managed to pull it out. A good cook can cook a good meal, but it takes a great cook to save one that's gone wrong, and you saved this one. It is, ah, was delicious." _Jane would be proud of me. I'm actually using complete sentences. _He couldn't help but smile.

Lisa smiled, dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin and stood, grabbing some of the dished. "Thank you, Sir. Almost as good as watching good food eaten is being told that it is good. You clearly have good taste in cuisine." She smiled, heading to the sink, to deposit the dishes.

Cho smiled, enjoying the view of her retreating form. She was wearing a loose scoop neck blouse and a black wrap around skirt, cinched tightly at the waist, accentuating the width of her hips and her narrow waist. The returning view was even nicer, even further enhance by the bottle of wine and two glasses.

"I don't have an wine glasses," she said shaking her head, "so we'll have to rough it with good old drinking glasses. She sat the glassed down, leaned over and poured two generous glasses full of the sparkling white wine. The scoop neck blouse made it obvious that it was her only upper garment. Cho involuntarily smiled at the view, as he felt an electric thrill pass through him. He felt himself flushing violently, not easy for one of Korean ancestry, as their eyes met and he realized that the view was not exactly an accident. Lisa smiled and picked up a glass and handed it to him, closing the distance, even more, between them. "I hope this whets your appetite." She smiled, stood and walked to the couch. "Come on over her, now, and let me grill you about your job. You said just enough to make me really curious during our meal, now I want to know all about you."

Cho shifted around so he could stand without making it too obvious just how interested in her that he'd become. From her smile, he was guessing that his attempt was less than successful. Lisa looked at his impassive face as he approached and wondered how he did it. She was fully aware of her "assets" and had fun employing them. She'd hit Cho with "full" voltage, and she was sure he'd flushed, but then it was like they were discussing last weeks news.

He sat next to her, being careful not to spill his wine. He took a sip of the wine, to lower the level, and almost almost choked when she put her hand on his leg, totally an unconscious gesture, or course, well above his knee. He carefully sat the wine glass down, after almost half emptying it, and put left had over her hand, that was on his leg. He flinched, and then relaxed as she slid her hand higher, he reached around, with his right hand and cupped her left breast through the thin fabric of her blouse. She hissingly inhaled as he rubbed her erect nipple with his thumb.

She pushed him back, and her blouse just seemed to vanish, revealing petite breasts with tiny, dark areola , and erect nipples. She drew her shoulders back, making her breasts rise high on her chest and smiled, making full eye contact. He could feel her hands on his belt and the sensation of her stroking him, flesh on flesh made him close his eyes and groan with pleasure. When he opened them, she was naked.

She grabbed his hand, and with surprising strength pulled him to his feet. "The bed room is this way," she said, pulling him towards a closed door.

Her bed room was plain and functional, but the bed a full and very comfortable. His clothing made a small pile on one side of the wall side of the bed, which was unnoticed as Lisa pulled him towards her, and full length, pressed her body against him. She put her arms around him and rolled, putting him beneath her. She sat up, her mound pressing against his erect member.

He stared at her, enjoying the intense sensations and the view, as he suddenly realized, of her almost hairless body. He placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly brought them down, across her breasts, down her stomach and to her pubis where they not yet joined. Using his thumbs, he rubbed a very sensitive spot on her body causing her to lean forward and close her eyes. She braced herself on one hand, raised her hips, and with the other hand, raised him to the proper angle and slammed her body onto his. She gave a short, not quite silent, scream at the tremors that shook her body.

Cho quickly realized that she was multi-orgasmic, but sadly, he wasn't so he paced himself. Lisa was very vocal and very energetic. The bed looked like it had been struck by a tornado, when Cho allowed release to come. Both were drenched with sweat, breathing hard and totally satiated. He was limp, in more ways than one, on his back, one hand dangling off of the bed. Lisa rolled over to face him. "Please say we can do this again."

Cho grunted. "We can do this again."

Lisa smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him as the sound of her door being splintered startled them both. Automatic gun fired sounded, random bullets penetrating from the main area, into the bed room. Cho grabbed Lisa, and rolled off of the bed, next to the wall. CBI regulations state that all CBI agents will be armed, even when they are off duty. Cho's choice of off duty weapons was a .380 loaded with hollow points. He grabbed the gun from it's inside belt holster and peered over the thick mattress to try to figure out what was going on. A man, carrying an auto rifle stepped into the door way, raised his weapon to spray the room. He didn't even see Cho, and received a .380 slug in the forehead. The spray of bullets going harmlessly into the ceiling.

Cho had his cell phone in his left hand and had speed dialed 911. "Officer needs assistance," he said then gave Lisa's address. "Gun shots fired, suspect armed and dangerous. Code 3."

Another man appeared, this time being far more careful. Cho could see the barrel of his weapon poking by the door frame. He fired where he figured he'd be and was rewarded by a scream and the sound of a falling body.

Lisa and Cho could hear sirens approaching.

Help was on the way, but another spray of bullets, through the wall struck the bed, not penetrating but very disturbing. They were far from safe.

oOOo

**A/N: Poor guy can hardly get a break! Maybe tomorrow will be better, but I sort of doubt it. Things just don't seem to be going his way.**


	3. Rescue

**Cho's Date  
**Rescue

"We've got to get out of here, the cops are coming."

A second voice replied, "I hear them, damn it, I hear them." Another volley of auto fire came through the wall, but no one seemed brave enough to get near the door, where Cho's command due to his marksmanship was undisputed.

"Come on! Let's get the f*** out of here. I ain't getting my ass shot off and going to jail."

"Shit! OK, let's go now!" The final word was almost shouted and tinged with panic.

Cho, looked at Lisa, and for all they'd been through, hesitated a moment before speaking. , "Get your clothes on. Things are going to get really busy around her really quick." He suited words to action and had already slid into his trousers. He pulled his shirt on and grabbed his badge and stood, as they heard the pounding of footsteps on the stairs. As the uniformed officers boiled into the apartment, Cho held his shield up, "CBI, I'm on the scene, and leading." He gave a quick run down on what had happened, carefully omitting exactly what he and Lisa had been doing at the exact moment the altercation had begun."

Several of the officers were dispatched to search the area for any suspects or suspicious characters. There was probably no way they could identify anyone unless they bolted or smelled of powder. Neither Cho or Lisa had actually seen any of those that had left alive. The one Cho had seen was dead, along with the one who had been silly enough to give away his position by allowing his gun barrel to be seen, but the effort couldn't hurt, and it did help clear the room so they could actually breathe.

Rigsby and Jane were the first CBI agents on the scene, with Teresa following within seconds.

Patrick looked around and shook his head. "Cho, is this how you show your dates a good time?"

Cho glared at him. "Sometimes."

Patrick smiled and put a "fatherly" hand on his shoulder. "When we have some time, we need to have another little chat. We'll cover social graces 102."

His smirk was cut short by a quick exhalation of air and a grunt. Cho had twisted in a manner that completely concealed the very ridged finger he poked into Patrick's solar plexus. On the Cho scale it was rather gentle, but on the Patrick scale it seem much higher, though it did not actually double him over, it did hurt.

Patrick's eyes widened and he backed up, holding up both hands, demonstrating his innocence. "But if you'd rather not, that's OK, too. " The famous Jane grin appeared. "I'm just trying to be a good friend."

Cho's glare sobered Jane and made him wonder if he'd crossed some line. "Seriously, though, do have any idea what was going on here? Obviously someone wanted someone dead. Do we know who? Was it you, her or wrong address. Any ideas?"

Cho shook his head and looked at Lisa, who had been silent since the shooting had started. Her eyes were wide, but she seemed reasonably calm and composed, if a little "shell" shocked. "Has anyone made any threats against you," Lisbon asked, hoping for something to work with.

She shook her head. "I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt me. I'm studying anthropology and have almost no social life, except for tonight, and then this happens." She glanced unhappily at Cho. "And to answer your question, no, no one has made any threats to me. I'm as about as harmless as anyone can get."

The uniformed officers had left, leaving Lisa and the CBI team, Grace having arrived last. Teresa took a deep breath. "Lisa, I want you to understand that we are major crimes. We don't deal with or care about a lot of things that are technically illegal. We do care when people are killing or trying to kill people. Understand?

Lisa nodded looking a little confused.

"So, when I ask you do you have any drug connections, it's not to arrest you. It's to figure out what may have happened here."

For the first time since the shooting, Lisa smiled. "I really don't have any drug connections. A few months ago, I smoked some weed at a party, but nothing else. I've never bought any and I don't have any."

"Could you have seen something that someone wouldn't want known?

Lisa shook her head. "No it was beer and weed, a typical Frat party. Nothing heavy, and it really was several months ago."

Teresa nodded. "I see." She looked towards the other room. "Are you finding anything, Rigsby?"

"Not anything you wouldn't expect," he called back. A lot of shell casings, the expected amount of blood." He paused. "Cho does good work, but not much physical evidence of any use."

"Damn!" Teresa mouthed silently. "How about you, Jane. You examined the body before the ME hauled them off. You have any ideas?"

"I do," he said. "I do have some ideas. It's all very interesting."

Teresa glanced skyward. "Well, do please share, Oh Wise One."

"I was going to share and I will share. You are always so impatient!" He grinned.

"If you don't start telling us, I promise that I will hurt you..."

"OK! OK! First of all, I can almost guarantee that that this was not drug related. This was a contract hit of some sort. The two bodies had no ID on them, and I'll bet that there'll be no finger prints on the shell casings. Of course, we'll have the finger prints of the two DBs, but I'm guessing they weren't expecting to get killed. The weapons are reasonably high grade, but not over the top. They were reasonably careful and reasonably professional, but not elite in any way."

"So, who were they after, Lisa, Cho, or someone else and they goofed?"

"I'm pretty sure they didn't goof. This shows too much planning, but Cho or Lisa, who knows?" Patrick shook his head. "There's just not enough to go on, though I'd guess Lisa. If they were tracking Cho, they'd have probably hit him at his apartment. Less chance of collateral damage and they could plan for the terrain better." He paused. "Yes, I think it was Lisa. If it had been Cho, they'd have been far more careful because, with this planning, they'd have known his skills."

Teresa nodded. "That makes sense." She looked Lisa. "You door is not really in very good shape. I'll put some crime scene tape on it and secure it the best we can, but you shouldn't stay here, tonight. For one thing, we don't how determined this attempt really is. Is there a place you can stay?"

Before she could speak, Cho said, "She'll stay with me." He paused and then stared at her. "If you want to."

Lisa visibly relaxed. "Oh, yes. I certainly want to." She looked around. "I certainly don't feel safe here." She smiled at him. "Thank you."

Cho smiled and looked uncomfortable. Teresa briefly smiled but then was all business. "You'll need to come into CBI tomorrow so we can completely debrief you and see if we can figure out what is going on. OK?"

oOo

Cho unlocked his door, reached into the room, turned the light on and stood aside to allow Lisa could enter. She stepped in, stopped and looked around. She smiled and turned to face him. "This is so you. If I were going to design and apartment for you, this would be it. " She smiled as he came in, closed the door and put his arm around her. She grabbed him and hung on like she was drowning. "I was so damn scared. I think I may have peed on myself. I was actually too scared to care or look." Her voice was choked and she sniffed trying to hold back tears. "You were amazing. You seemed to know exactly what to do."

"Stress release," he thought. Cho smiled. "At least you didn't wet your undies."

Lisa had a brief look of confusion then she snickered. "You are bad!"

Cho nodded. "I am and you didn't."

"True on both counts, now you could offer a girl something cold and mildly intoxicating, you know."

Lisa had seen the bottle of rum and asked for a straight shot. She downed two, very quickly and then asked for a rum and coke. "That really did help me relax. I can't believe how wound up I am." She lay back on his bed. "Kimball, I've heard that violence and death can be real turn ons." She blushed.

Cho smiled. "Could be the rum."

"No," she said. "It started before that, but the rum isn't hurting any. I'm really wet." Cho said nothing. "Dammit, Kimball, don't just sit there. Do something. You could start by undressing me."

Cho realized he was moving far to slow for Lisa, but he could understand simple commands. "I can do that," he said kneeling next to the bed, unbuttoning her blouse and paying proper attention to her breasts.

She wasn't sure when he'd removed her wrap around skirt, but it was gone and since she'd not put on any panties in the rush to get dressed, Cho had nothing more to remove. There were a lot of things she wasn't sure of, but one thing she was sure of. That was that the first of many orgasms to come was just about to start. She moaned and pulled his head tight against her pubis.

"All night. All night. You can do that all night," she moaned.

oOOo

**A/N: Ok, Cho actually has a social live and he's not a monk! He is still Cho, and there is a crime to solve. Who says you can't mix business with pleasure?**

**So, let me hear some feedback. Is anyone still reading?**


	4. Investigation

**A/N: Some questions are answered and the plot thickens. Where do the go from here?**

**Cho's Date  
**Investigation

Lisa looked nervous, like a school kid in the Principal's office, and she kept glancing toward Cho, looking of reassurance. The team was uniformly surprised when he actually smiled and winked at her. Jane smiled and nodded like a wise old owl contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Lisbon just began.

"Lisa, we asked you come in, because we're hoping that something that you saw or that you know, and don't realize the importance of can help us figure this out. " Lisa nodded. "Why don't you start at the beginning of the day," Lisbon suggested.

Lisa began recounting the day in great detail, including some direct quoted of her conversation with Cho in the book store. Cho sat impassively as she gave a glowing account of the encounter, calling my one of the kindest people she'd ever met. At that point, all eyes turned to Cho, who remained totally impassive and showed no expression of that listening intently to her rendition.

"Wait a minute," Patrick interjected. "You are talking about Kimball Cho?" he pointed at Cho. That Kimball Cho. The one sitting there?"

"Jane!" Lisbon intoned in a deadly voice. "This is an official investigation."

He shook his head, looking upwards and throwing both hands up. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted to confirm that we were talking about the same person. That is vital to the investigation."

"Jane, put a sock in it. Now!"

"Yes, Ma'am," he said with very un-Jane like meekness. Lisbon did not realize the significance on the one finger that Cho had raised for Jane to see. The one he'd used to so painfully poke him with, yesterday, but Patrick was making it clear that he did not want to encounter that finger again. Cho understood and a keen observer would have seen the corners of his mouth twitch as he unobtrusively lowered his hand to the table.

Lisa continued, amused by the interplay and curious to know what was behind it. She decided she'd get Cho to tell her all about it.

"You may continue, now, Lisa. Mr. Jane will now behave himself." She glared at Jane, looking far more dangerous than the single finger that Cho had raised.

When she got to the part where Cho arrived at her apartment, Lisbon stopped her. "I don't want any details of what you and Cho said or did. I want to know about anything that you may have heard, noticed, or felt. Anything out of the ordinary. Actually anything that may have been external to the room."

Lisa shook her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing I noticed or can think of now. I mean the first indication I had that anything was really going on was when Cho pushed me onto the floor, then I heard shooting and was not really paying attention to anything but how to make myself smaller and harder to hit."

"And you, Cho. You're not only an investigator, in this case, you're a victim too. What were your impressions."

Cho hesitated, thinking. "When I approached her apartment, I did notice the smell of a little weed and that store where the Rank murder took place, but I also thought that is was a quiet, peaceful evening. There was nothing suspicious or anything to make me uncomfortable." He paused. "She'd prepared a meal, which was what I was mostly paying attention to. Thank you Lisa," he said, flashing a rare Cho smile, "and after we ate, we were relaxing in the bed room, when I heard the the door being forced, I'm guessing it was kicked open. I pushed Lisa to the floor, with the bed between her and the door. I drew my gun and shot the one that tried to actually come into the room. The second one, I shot through the wall when he revealed his location by letting me see the barrel of his gun poke beyond the door frame. I called 911 and they ran when the heard the sirens."

"And then you called me," Lisbon asked when he didn't continue.

"You knew that."

"Well, yes I did. I just wanted you to say it."

"Ok. Then I called you."

"Cho," Lisbon said, her irritation obvious. He just stared at her. "Oh, never mind she said. I think we've got it." _He's getting as bad as Jane. I do hope this is not a trend._

Lisbon's cell phone beeped, indicating a text message. She read it and smiled. "We now know who the two DBs were. They were security guards for the Tunite Construction Company. They have no serious convictions, but they have been implicated in two murder for hire crimes, though never indited."

Lisa looked shocked. "I know that name. I've heard of Tunite Construction. They want to build a mall on some land that is supposed to be a burial ground that is several centuries old. They dispute the fact it's a burial ground and claim that any bones found there were simply chance findings and not actually any planned burials."

"How have you heard of this," Lisbon asked. "Are you an activist?"

"No, I'm not an activist. I told you that I am studying anthropology, so that's an area of interest for me and my father is on the Historic Preservation Board. He was called to evaluate the claims and to recommend permission or denial for the permit."

She now had the entire team's attention. "Has anyone approached you to influence your father," Jane asked.

"No, but my father told me that he'd been offered, in a very indirect fashion, a lot of money to find for construction."

"And he hasn't," Jane said.

"How did you know that," Lisa asked.

"Because if he had, he'd be drinking rum coolers somewhere nice, not hearing that his daughter is getting shot at. I'm not sure you were supposed to die."

"You think this was a message to her father," Lisbon asked.

Patrick shrugged. "Or pay back. We'd better contact him and see what's going on."

Patrick had been the one to contact Dr. Ruark, Lisa's father. He'd used all of his charm and tact to inform him of the events and their suspicions, while getting as much information from him as possible. He revealed that he and Lisa had been threatened, but that he'd discounted it as an empty threat. He'd informed the board that he was going to declare the land as protected until he could do more, in depth research.

"What can I do to protect myself and my daughter," he'd asked. "I can't let this sort of intimidation affect my findings."

Patrick had told him to hold off on doing anything while CBI explored options.

"Explore options. That's a good one Jane. Just what in the hell are we going to do?" Lisbon's concern was very real and very justified. There was no forensic way to link the attack to the company or anyone in the company. Their layers of lawyers and the molasses speed of all legislative processes made protecting anyone from any action they cared to take almost impossible.

"What we, or you, really, in this case, are going to do is that you let Cho and I put out heads together and come up with a solution." He stared at her. "Lisbon, this could be a solution that you don't want to know about."

oOo

Lisa cuddled up to Cho, enjoying the sensation of flesh on flesh. Their breathing had slowed and Cho was comfortably drifting in a post coital haze. "This is a mess," Lisa said. "I never thought that my father, a scholar, a PhD, was in a dangerous profession."

Cho grunted.

Lisa sat up and stared at Cho. "What am I going to do, Kimball? I could have been killed."

Cho stared at her and wondered how he managed to get into bed with such a sexy, spunky, lady. He reached up and stroked her shoulder and breast. "But you weren't."

Lisa pulled the sheet down, baring Cho's muscular body. "Thanks to you," she said, rolling on top of him. Staring into his eyes, the view he was receiving, from beneath her was causing reactions that he was not expecting so soon. "No, you weren't, and we won't let that happen." He put his hands on her full buttocks and pulled her tight to himself.

She smiled at his physical reactions. It was fun having that much power over such a strong man, and he seemed to be enjoying it, too. "I hear you, but what can the law do. You can't touch Tunite."

Cho shifted and Lisa's eyes widened and she realized he was more than ready. "The law can't touch Tunite. Jane is not the law. I do what it takes." He stared into her eyes, watching her her breasts move to the rhythm of his body. "I do _whatever_ it takes."

oOOOo

**A/N: Whatever it takes? **


	5. Regroup

**Cho's Date  
**Regroup

Cho let Patrick in and they sat at his small table. Lisa brought a steaming cup of tea to him. "Kimball says you like tea. I hope this is OK."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he replied kindly, being quite sure it would far too weak. He took the obligatory sip and his eyes widened. "This is really good!" He turned towards Cho. "How come you have lapsang souchong? I didn't think you drank tea. At the office you drink the mud with the rest of them."

Cho looked at him. "You're contagious. It's good."

Lisa shook her head. "I don't think I want to drink anything that smells like that! The word yucky comes to mind." She grinned.

"It does take a mature and sophisticated pallet," Jane offered, smiling his 1000 watt winning smile.

"Or perverted," Lisa shot back. "But each to his own," she finished, smiling. "If you like it, I'll be more than happy to brew it it for you. That'll give you incentive to help keep me alive." Her smile was as sincere at the tension in her voice.

Jane nodded, looking more serious. "I think that we old perverts can come up with something to keep you all in one piece. Don't you, Cho?"

"You have a plan," Cho asked.

Patrick sighed, took another sip of tea and leaned back. "We can't touch them legally. We have no hard evidence to link them, though we know the link is there. They are far too big and powerful to try an actual frontal assault on them, even if we knew who to target." He closed his eyes, obviously deep in thought.

Cho patiently waited. He was used to Jane. Lisa finally broke the silence. "So what can we do? How do we do this?"

Jane opened his eyes and blinked rapidly three times. "We have to have an indirect approach."

Cho slightly nodded in agreement, but Lisa frowned and shook her head, not understanding. "Indirect, what to you mean?"

Jane smile, pleased to have the opportunity to impress the pretty young lady. "What do big corporations do, Lisa?"

"They screw everybody over and ruin the environment," she shot back without thinking.

Patrick laughed out loud. "Yes, that is mostly true, but what they are trying to do is make money. We have to convince them that killing you or your father will cost them more money than they would lose if they can't go ahead with their project, and right now, no one knows for sure if it'll eventually be approved or not, right?"

Lisa nodded. "Right, but how can killing us cost them that much money. They can't be directly linked to us. You've already admitted that."

Patrick smiled. "There are ways and there are ways. Sometimes you just have to make people see something and interpret it that way you want them to interpret it. Of course, you have to set it up just right." He turned to Cho. "You and I need to have a private chat, for a few minutes." Turning to Lisa he said, "Is that OK with you?"

Lisa started to reply, but Cho interrupted. "This is her life. She should hear what we say."

Jane frowned. "The only approach I can think of isn't exactly legal, Cho. We're going to be into it up to our necks. What she doesn't know, she can't tell."

"I don't mind. Really, it's OK Kimball. I understand."

Cho glared at Patrick. "It's her life. She should know."

Patrick sighed. "Lisa, just how far are you willing to go to get this done? "

Lisa looked grim. "If someone tries to kill you, you have the right to defend yourself, don't you?"

Patrick and Cho nodded.

"If you kill them protecting yourself, it's not really murder, is it?"

"That depends," Patrick answered. "If you go back and kill them the next day, the law calls it murder."

"Well, I think I'm protecting myself and I don't care what the law says. I'm following the law of survival. I'll do what ever it takes."

The edge of Cho's mouth twitched slightly upward, producing, ever briefly, the ghost of a smile. Patrick smiled and took another sip of tea. "You're a hard lady, Lisa, and I believe you. Through it all, you've never, even once, turned into a blob of feminine sobs and I respect that."

Lisa nodded. "Thank you, but believe me, it hasn't been easy."

"Even more the reason. " He paused. "This is a big company, and many times the left hand has no real clue to what the right hand is doing. We can use that to our advantage. Suppose someone had paid a bribe to your father in an off shore account. If a good friend of his, say someone like a guardian angel, informed them that if anything happened to him or you, the IRS would be given the account number and a computer record linking the transaction to Tunite. They have a lot of government contracts and any hold on contracts, even if they weren't convicted that would be billions of dollars potential loss. That should get their attention."

Lisa laughed. "I can see that would get their attention, but they didn't do any such thing and you know it. My father would never agree to anything like that!"

Patrick turned on his 1000 watt smile. "You know that, Cho and I know that, but they don't have a clue!"

Lisa frowned and looked confused. Cho leaned forward, elbows on the table intently listening. Lisa shook her head. "And where are you going to get an off shore account and enough money to make it look like a bribe my father would accept?"

"Why, off shore accounts are easy to open." Patrick smiled.

"And the money," Lisa asked.

"Why, we steal it, of course," Patrick said widely grinning.

"Oh!" Lisa sat back looking slightly stunned."

"We steal it?" Cho did not look happy.

"Sure. Steal it. I don't think they'll give it to us, and if they did it would ruin the surprise."

"Surprise?" Now Cho looked confused, in a very bland, Korean way.

"Why, yes. Surprise. We'll steal it from them, set up this account with their own money in it and say it was paid to Dr. Ruark as a bribe by Tunite. They'll buy it because it could be true, they won't be sure it isn't, and they won't be able to take the risk."

Lisa stared at Patrick. "How do you intend to steal, - how much are you planning on stealing? - from Tunite to set up this account?"

"Oh, I figure five hundred thousand sounds about right. Not so much as to seem absurd, but enough to temp a mere academic."

Lisa bridled! "My father is NOT a mere academic! He's a respected..."

"Now, now," Patrick interrupted. "That is not my view! It's what we want them to believe. Understand?"

Lisa calmed down, but still did not look happy. Cho's eyes widened, but he said nothing. "I hear you," Lisa muttered, but her glare towards Patrick was not all that forgiving. Lisa was clearly upset by the perceived disparagement of her father, but Cho was considering the magnitude of five hundred thousand dollars.

Finally, he spoke. "Five hundred thousand?"

Patrick seemed glad for the opportunity to not have to further explain to Lisa. "I think that's about right. They won't even notice when it goes missing, if we choose the right account."

"They won't even notice a half million missing dollars!" Patrick had to smile at Lisa's look of awe. He remembered when he used to think that was a lot of money and was impressed by it.

"Oh, they'd eventually figure out it was gone, but it could take some time. For them, that's not even petty cash. Before we're done, they won't even know what hit them." Patrick was having the time of his life. He'd not had the chance to work a good scam since becoming part of the CBI team and he was loving every minute of this golden opportunity.

"Well," he said standing. "I have some calls to make. I'm going to end up owing a certain very financially literate, computer wise friend a favor, but all in a good cause. " He grabbed his almost cold cup of tea and downed it. "Good job on the tea, Lisa. It had character. I'll stop by tonight, say, around 7 to discuss my progress and where we go from there, OK?"

Patrick left, saying he'd see Cho at the office. Lisa stood and put her arms around the seated Cho. "You have to go to the office?"

Cho nodded. Yes."

"Do you have ave time for once more, before you leave?"

Cho flashed a very uncharacteristic smile. "I'll make time."

oOOOo

**A/N: What does a con man love more than an con? Stay tuned, to find out.**


	6. The Scam

**Cho's Date**  
The Scam

A new, high profile case bumped Lisa's home invasion, as it was now officially being called, from primary focus of interest. Lisbon had been very carefully avoiding asking Cho or Patrick what they were doing in their off hours about the case. She was sure they were working some angle, but what she didn't know, she didn't have to report. "What I don't know won't hurt them," she mused as they came into the office. Patrick looked as smug and satisfied as a cat that had eaten the canary, while Cho, who usually, was impossible to read, actually looked guilty – of something! _I don't want to know. I will __**not**__ ask anything. Just look the other way and pretend!_

Cho had reluctantly agreed that Lisa should return to school. He'd given school security a heads up, hoping, that if anything happened, they could handle it, but to allow her life to be totally disrupted would only mean that Tunite had won, and neither of them wanted that to be the case. Both were too stubborn to even consider that.

The day dragged on and on.

oOo

The building was tall and forbidding. Most of the windows, at 3 AM were dark, though a few glowed faintly with the dim light of standing lights. "I don't like this, Jane. There has to be another way."

Patrick looked uncharacteristically serious. "We need quick attention and this will do it. If you have a better idea, I'm all ears, but we can do this."

When Cho didn't respond, Patrick put on a big smile and prominently held a clipboard full of paper in front of him and walked into the main entrance. The sleepy guard looked up from his magazine as Jane approached him.

Jane pasted on a big grin. "Allied Cable." He looked at he looked at his clipboard. "I need to get to the cable room on the 15th floor." He scribble a note on the top paper. "If you'd initial here, that this is the time I came in..." He extended the board to blinking guard.

The guard looked at Jane and Cho, both dressed in workman's over clothing, with a large logo of "Allied" wrapped in large cable on the back. "Uh, OK," he muttered taking the pen that Jane offered him. "Sign in here, and don't forget to sign out, OK?" He pointed to a log book on the desk.

"No problem," Jane replied, scribbling on the log. "Come on, Jeff, grab the box and let's shake it. My wife was not happy about this night time call." Cho easily lifted the large tool box and subserviently followed Jane to the bank of elevators.

In the elevator to the 18th floor, Cho looked at Jane. "It's that easy? You just walk in?"

Jane smiled. "I had a clipboard AND I asked him to sign. People trust you when you have a clipboard of official looking papers. It's like a magic key that opens all kinds of doors and possibilities. And don't forget, I asked him to sign. We're like brothers in ink, or something, now. We can't be bad buys!"

Cho shook his head, his expression saying more than words ever could.

For the next half hour, Jane broke into various offices and carefully rearranged documents, turned on computers and generally made it clear to anyone who knew the area that their space had been violated. He opened some filing cabinets and found sensitive data that he'd put on a desk, and a couple of times loose on the floor. When he was done, it did not take a genius to see that something was amiss.

"Now," he said, "the final bit." He turned on a computer in the Vice Presidents office and logged onto the financial package. He quickly copied some very sensitive files, leaving evidence of his activities in the log files. "OK, Cho, let's get out of here."

The sound of a door opening and the startled exclamation of the guard startled both of them, but Cho reacted on instinct. In two strides, he close the distance between them, executed a spear hand to the solar plexus and chopped the back of his neck when he doubled over.

"Perfect!" Jane said. "NOW, we can get the hell out of here! When the guard doesn't check in, they'll know to look for signs and they'll sure find some!" He was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat! "This couldn't have worked better if I had planned it that way."

Sitting in Cho's apartment, Jane sipping tea, while Lisa and Cho made coffee, Lisa couldn't contain herself. "So how did it go Mr. Jane? I'm glad you're safe, but did you accomplish what you wanted to?"

"Please, Lisa, I'm Patrick. Don't make me sound so much older than I really am! And, yes, it went perfectly. We will have their undivided attention when I contact them."

"What I want to know is how you knew how to log onto their computers." Cho took a sip of his coffee. "You cannot read minds and not even the world's best hacker can break into a system that quickly!"

Patrick's face lit up. He loved astounding people and Cho was not easy to astound. "I told you have have some good friends that are very computer literate. I never said they were strictly legal."

Cho grunted. "Enough. We have no need to know."

Patrick nodded in agreement. "No you don't and I'm not going to tell you too much more, except that when we went in, I already had the log on and password for the program I wanted to access. I can also tell you that the half million dollar account for your father, Lisa, has been set up."

The expression on Lisa's face was all he'd hoped it to be. While, to anyone else, Cho would have appeared impassive, Patrick reveled in the nuances that he could detect: the slight tick at the corner of his mouth, an eyebrow that slightly flicked up and his nostrils flared, ever so slightly. All providing very satisfactory feedback to Patrick indicating how impressed Cho actually was. Patrick grinned. "All in a day's work," he said. "All in a day's work. I'm a little rusty, but I think it's coming together nicely!" He looked at Cho. "I hope you didn't hurt the guard too badly. He was only doing his job and we don't want CBI called in on that." He grinned. "Talk about a conflict of interest!"

Cho shook his head. "He won't even have a headache. In 20 minutes he'll be fine. "

Lisa gasped and stared back and forth between Cho and Jane. Before she could say anything Jane said, "Not to worry. The security guard came in as we were finishing and Cho helped him have some nap time. It actually worked out quite well. Now, they'll be sure they've been compromised. We couldn't ask for more!" He leaned back and looked very satisfied.

oOOOo

**A/N: Holy B&E Bat man! What's next?  
Please note that reviews make me write faster.  
They provide incentive.**


	7. Initial Foray

**Cho's Date**  
Initial Foray

"Got it. No problem. I'll get someone on it, right away." Lisbon hung up the phone looking distinctly unhappy. "I don't need this," she muttered. "Cho, come in here. I need you to check out something."

Cho arrived, silently, in her office as she was staring at some active case files. She looked up and jumped. "I wish you wouldn't do that," she hissed. "You're worse than Jane and you know it scares the, I mean, it startles me."

"Sorry," Cho replied.

"Sorry, what," she responded, glaring.

"Sorry, Ma'am," he said deadpan.

Lisbon closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. Oh, never mind!" She picked up a post it note and handed it to him. "Here's the address of Tunite Corporation. They may have had a B&E, vandalism and assault, last night. The CEO has some clout with the mayor, so we get to check it out and make him look good."

Cho remained impassive as he took the yellow square of paper. "Take Jane with you," Teresa said. "A snake oil salesman would be good on this one."

"Yes, Ma'am," Cho replied stepping into the bull pen. "Jane. Come." He turned and headed towards the elevators, Jane rushing to catch up.

On the way down Jane said, "I heard. Not to worry. I can handle it. They'll not press charges, I promise you."

Cho glared at Jane. "This is bad kimchi," he said.

Jane grimaced, remembering trying some of the kimchi that Cho had made. "Cho, there is no such thing as good kimchi!" He visibly shuddered.

"So you say. Then you will understand bad kimchi is bad!"

Jane nodded. "But this won't be bad kimchi. Honest! This'll be the good stuff"

Cho did not seem convinced.

oOo

"Can you describe the man who came in and assaulted you last night," Cho asked the guard he'd knocked out last night.

"The guard nodded. I think so. He was a big dude, and strong. I hardly knew what hit me."

Cho nodded. "Good. A strong, big dude. Anything else?"

"The one with the clipboard, the one in charge, he was a little skinny dude. Sort of looked like the guy with you. Maybe that tall or a little shorter."

Jane stepped forward. "Like me? Do I look skinny to you?" In his tailored suit, Patrick had good build. He'd been working out and his chest and arms showed it.

The guard looked at Jane. "I guess not. He was in jump suit work outfit for Allied Cable and he really did look wimpy and he was bossy, too. Ordering his helper around."

Patrick glanced over at Cho and saw a ghost of a grin, then nothing. The vice president, who's computer Jane had used, arrived. "Good day, gentlemen," he said. "I'm Mark Vincent, Executive Vice President. I hope you're making some progress. What have you got, so far?"

"We've examined the area and there are no obvious signs of vandalism. Nothing seems to be damaged. I understand that a computer was used and some files stolen, but no one could give me any details on that, and it seems that whoever did it had a password. How secure are your passwords?" Jane smiled, waiting for the answer.

"Oh, I can assure you that our passwords are very secure. There's no way someone is just going to guess the pass word to my accounting system."

"So," Jane said, "you're saying that it had to be someone who knows or has access to the passwords. Could you make a list of those people for us?"

Mark Vincent hesitated. "Uh, I'm the only one who has that particular password. A hacker must have broken in."

"Mr. Vincent, hackers take hours to crack secure software. This is looking more and more like an inside job." Cho nodded. "Is there anyone on your staff that could have seen you entering your password or guessed what it might be?"

Patrick added, "It could be someone you trust, so can you think of anyone?"

Then Cho said, "If you can give a list of the files that were stolen, maybe we can see a pattern and connect it to someone who may profit from what they've obtained."

"Yes," added Patrick. "Things like this are usually about profit or revenge. The nature of those document could provide valuable clues."

Mr. Vincent chewed on his upper lip. "So, you think this could be an inside job." He nodded. "Yes, that makes sense." He took a deep breath. "For the sake of the company, I've decided that we'll handle the investigation internally. I want to thank you gentlemen for your attention, _discretion, _and time, but we won't be filing any charges or complaints."

Cho and Jane looked at each other. "I understand, Sir," Jane said. "You can rely on our discretion. Your company is a valued asset to our city and state. We'll do all we can to insure our continued good relationship."

Back on the street, walking towards Jane's car, Cho stopped. "One question."

"What's that," Jane asked.

What about the log book? If it was an inside job, why did the log have that open entry. We never signed out."

"When I signed in, last night, I took the pen. The first thing I did, when we went in, was to ask to examine the log. I signed us out fifteen minutes after we signed in, using the same pen." The Jane grin was very satisfied.

Cho nodded. "You're good. So what do we do now?"

"Now, we go back to CBI and tell Lisbon the good news. We don't have this case because they decided to handle it internally, and that there was no sign of any crime."

Cho lifted one eyebrow. "What about the assaulted guard.?"

"Oh that," Jane waved his hands. "That's just his unsupported word. Odds are he fell asleep and missed whoever stole the files and was just covering up."

Cho stared at Jane and nodded. "I repeat. You are good."

Patrick smiled. "Yes, I am, aren't I. Some days things just work the way you want them to, even if it's not exactly as you planned. Fate seems to be on Lisa's side."

Lisbon met Jane and Cho as they returned to CBI. "Good job, guys. Even if we don't solve them, we clear them. She glanced up at the clock. "Seems like the day's almost over. Why don't you two bag it early and get some relaxation. Rigsby and Van Pelt are interviewing some witnesses to the drive by. They are a good team. Rigsby is intimidating and Grace is reassuring. A perfect bad cop/good cop duo. They'll probably be done shortly, but no need for you to wait around."

"Works for me," Jane said.

"Me too," Cho echoed. "Thanks boss."

oOo

Cho and Lisa were staring at Cho's lap top. Jane had just finished typing the email that was going to be sent to Mark Vincent. It was written in a very passive/aggressive style of which Jane was a master. It detailed enough data from the stolen data to have credibility and then mentioned the off shore account in Dr. Ruark's name that was part of the bribery scheme for a finding in favor of Tunite for the building permit. The fact that knowledge of this account would be made very public if anything happened to any of their family was less then veiled and subtle. The whole thing was signed "A friend of the family."

"How is this actually going to be delivered without pointing right back as us," Lisa asked.

Jane grinned. "First I encrypt this file with a key that I've told my good buddy how to generate. I actually gave him a phrase and he has to use that to generate the sha1 hash, which he'll use as the key. If you know the phrase, you still have to know exactly how I wrote it and you need to know to generate an sha1 hash from it." He grinned. "Fat chance!"

"How does that help us," Lisa asked.

"Well, next I hook to a proxy in Russia and use it to email the encrypted file to a friend, who will decrypt it and send it on through so many proxies and secure servers that it will be impossible to trace. There will be NO trace to us of the text in that message. We will be absolutely shielded from that."

Cho nodded, understanding, but Lisa asked, "Then what happens?"

"Then my dear, the shit hits the fan!" Jane grinned a very uncharacteristic grin. There was a sardonic quality that was rarely seen, and he seemed to be loving the though of what was to come.

oOOOo

**A/N: The battle lines are drawn. Can three people take on a major corporation and win? It IS Jane!**

**Now, you've read it, review it! Like I said before, reviews make me update faster! **


	8. Battle Joined

**Cho's Date**  
Battle Joined

Jane grinned and waved a small piece of paper at Lisa and Cho. We have a nibble. The both quickly read it, Cho getting a grim expression his face, while Lisa looked terrorized. "This is great," Jane enthused. "I think we hit them in a sensitive spot."

"That's the response you got to your email? I was hoping for something a little less threatening," Lisa said quietly.

Cho nodded. "It seems like she and her father are in even more danger, now. I was afraid of that."

"Not all!" Jane looked even more satisfied than usual. "Before they can hurt Lisa or Dr. Ruark, they have to kill me. They made is very clear that do not want that information to become public, and I'll be the one doing the releasing."

"And getting killed doesn't worry you," Lisa asked confused.

"I'm sure they'd just love to kill me, but you see they have no clue who I am, besides, if anything were to happen to me, the information would be released in a few days, unless they could find and disable the mechanism. They are not anywhere near that good."

Lisa shook her head. "They'll track back to the email site and there you are. I'll bet they'll think of ways to insure your cooperation."

"No," Jane grinned. "There is Mark Vincent. All records will show that he established that account from his office computer." He glanced at his watch. "I'd say about 60 hours ago. Looks like our boy is into it up to his neck!" Leaning back in the chair, Jane looked very pleased with himself.

Lisa stared at Patrick and smiled, then looked over at Cho and smiled wider. "You said he was good." She nodded. "I'd say you're right."

Cho nodded. "He's good, but he doesn't appreciate good kimchi."

oOo

"What do you mean that's my email account," Mark Vincent shouted at the computer tech. "You are out of your freaking mind! I give you a simple job and you come back here, babbling like an idiot. If that's my account why do you think I asked you to find out who it belonged to. You are supposed to be the best that money can buy!"

The computer tech was not the typical stereo type of a skinny, bespectacled nerd. He was reasonably well built and very proud of his skills. He stood, nose to nose with Vincent. "You did get the best there is, and that's me. Your computer set up this account and your computer gave your name, address, and phone number in the sign up process. Now, forgive me if you don't like the truth, but there it is. Now, pay me and I'll try hard to forget that I ever met you."

Mark Vincent backed up. "Wait a minute. I guess I spoke without thinking. Let's assume you're right and my computer did do that."

"I am right," growled the tech, "and your computer did do that."

"Can you tell me how that happened. I can promise you it wasn't really me."

"Anyone who has access to your computer could do it. If a remote control trojan is installed on your machine, that could do it. I did check the IP and that account was set up from this computer. No doubt about that."

"Can you tell me how, it was done. Not guessing. For certain."

The tech gave him a nasty grin. "Double my fee. It'll be done."

Twenty five minutes later, the tech stood and stretched. "You have a remote control trojan on your machine. It was installed three days ago and there is no way to find out who did it. They used multiple proxies that keep no logs, and three of them are in the old soviet block. No cooperation there, and no chance, anyway. They used some state of the art cracking programs to get by your firewall and passwords. Whoever did it was a master of the field."

"Can you find that son of a bitch," Mark Vincent snarled.

"Not for sure, unless he's been bragging. I know most of the hackers and crackers, but, a lot of the time, the really goods ones never stick their heads up."

"You find him and I'll pay you 10 times what I'm paying today!"

The tech's eyebrows shot up. "I'll be really trying and if I succeed, you'll be the first to know."

Vincent smiled. "Good, now did you get that trojan off of my computer?"

The tech grinned. "No, you didn't pay me to do that. Double what you owe me now should cover it."

Vincent's face turned to stone. "Take your money and get the hell out of here. My people will handle the trojan. When you have a name for me, come on back and make nice. We can talk about it."

oOo

"Here we go," Jane said lifting his cup of tea in a toasting gesture. "The word is out. There is a major effort to find the vicious hacker that put the trojan on a Tunite computer. It seems that someone in the company if mightily offended and will be more than happy to offer financial remuneration for information leading to the identification of that scandalous scalawag."

Lisa smiled and looked at Cho. "Did he really just say 'scandalous scalawag' while keeping a straight face."

Cho stared at her. "He did."

By now, Lisa was used to Cho's sometimes very cryptic responses. She smiled and turned to Jane. "He says you said that."

Jane sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm sorry if my command of the language offends you. I was paraphrasing, of course."

Lisa nodded. "Of course. I do totally understand. You simply felt that the language they had used was inappropriate for mixed company, right?"

Jane started to reply, but stopped short and grinned, pointing a sharp index finger at Lisa and waggling it back and forth. "No, no, no! I'm the one who plays word games and and makes people answer silly questions like they mean something." He "tsk'd" and shook his head. "You're not getting away with that, now. Don't even go there." He grinned at her and winked.

"Jane," said Cho. "Tunite."

Patrick took another sip of tea. "OK, my guy tells me that Tunite has removed two of the three trojans and 1 of the three virus programs that he planted. He was surprised that they found two of the trojans and said that they must have some good people. He was very careful to point out that he was better. Much better."

Lisa nodded. "He must be good. So what, now?"

"Well," Patrick responded, "we still have one trojan and two virus programs on that machine. The virus programs are capable of spawning a remote control process that will allow us access. If we're lucky, tonight the trojan will send us some more rather sensitive documents. They'll allow me to start a shit storm that'll give something for Tunite to worry about other than you and your dad."

"Won't that all be connected to us," Lisa asked.

"Not if we do it right. It's a new trojan, new destination, new attack. They can wonder, but they can never be sure."

oOo

Lisa straddled Cho and looked down at him. He was breathing hard, but she had ideas for him still and wasn't finished. She threw her head back, getting her hair out of her eyes, enjoying the way his eyes focused on her bobbing breasts. "Do you think this is really going to work, Cho?" Cho seemed oblivious to her question, focusing more on what she was doing, rather than what she was saying.

"Cho," she said, irritation obvious in her voice. "I asked you a question." She paused what she was doing and waited for an answer.

Cho sighed. "Keep doing that. I'll answer."

When she continued, Cho did make an attempt to respond. "Jane is good." He hesitated. "Yes, like that." He groaned and continued, "If he can't no one can. I'd bet on him."

Lisa frowned, though she accelerated her pace. "I'm not sure that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling."

Cho grabbed her waist, lifted her and slid her quickly back down. "Screw fuzzy. Warm and wet is good."

oOOOo


	9. Battle

**Cho's Date**  
Battle

Cho froze. Something was next to him, in bed. His eyes snapped open, but then he calmed down as Lisa grabbed his hand and put it on her breast. "Mmm, I love Saturday mornings, don't you," she whispered.

Cho relaxed and let his startle reflex subside. "Sometimes," he replied.

Lisa ran her hand down his nude body, lightly caressing his well defined abs, allowing her hand to drift lower. "Is this one of those times," she asked, feeling him stiffen.

"Yes." He rolled over to face her and began to take a more active part in the activities.

"Mmmm. Are you always this horny? Lisa rolled on top of him, throwing the light sheet and blanket off of them.

"Sometimes," he replied, reaching between their legs, positioning himself and driving into her already very wet body.

There was a period of relative silence and both became very interested in the sensations they were experiencing. Lisa groaned and sat erect on him, forcing him to stop moving. "Not yet," she gasped. "We've got all morning. I don't want you to wear out too soon." Her grin was wicked.

He reached up and rubbed her nipples erect with his thumbs and pinched hard enough to make her jump with surprise. He could feel the increase of warmth and wetness as her response.

"Oh, no fair," she gasped. "You know what that does to me."

"I know." He did it again and thrust hard into her.

"Ah," she grunted, leaning forward, rapidly pumping with her pelvis. Her body began to shine with a light sheen of perspiration and her nipples were, now, very hard and very prominent. She jerked erect, arching her back and silently straining. Cho could feel the orgasmic pulsations shaking her body and see the muscles in her stomach ripple with waves of sensual pleasure.

One more thrust and he joined her, and for several seconds they tangled wildly, each seeking to give and receive as much as possible.

They lie, spent, almost unable to suck enough air into exhausted lungs, slowly recovering and becoming aware of a different sort, and more mundane, reality.

Lisa, predictably, was the first to speak. "Can I keep you?"

Cho grunted. "Try to get rid of me."

"No." They were both silent, but still breathing hard, the perspiration evaporating and cooling them.

The sharp knock at the door startled both of them. Cho's firearm appeared in his hand, as if by magic."

"It's me. You in there, Cho?" Patrick's voice was readily recognizable.

Cho frowned and made the gun vanish. "The man has no sense of decency," Cho informed Lisa.

She smiled. "He did wait until we were done."

Cho nodded. "True. Let him live?"

"Yes, Kimball. We still need him."

"I guess." Cho swung his legs off of the bed and stepped into sweat pants. "Coming," Cho called, tying the drawstring as he slowly walked to the door.

Lisa rummaged around and found her bikini panties and slid into them. She pulled on one of Cho's tee shirts, which _almost_ covered her, decently. She bounced out of the bed and tugged it down, almost to her knees, hoping it would sort of stay there. She had a nice body and enjoyed being looked at, but she didn't want to embarrass Cho or make Jane think she was coming on to him. "Bodies make life complicated," she mused. She smiled. _But they are fun._

Cho opened the door and Patrick was standing there, arms crossed. He sighed, "Sleep late. Mr. Cho?"

His sarcastic tone was lost on Cho who simply replied, "No."

Patrick looked in and saw Lisa, almost modestly covered, standing near a very rumpled bed and smiled. "Ah, I understand. I guess there's no fresh tea brewed."

"No." Cho replied.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jane, I'll make some right away," Lisa chirped.

"Thank you, Lisa and my name is Patrick. I'm quite sure there's a Mr. Jane somewhere, but I'm not he!"

"Sorry, Mr... I mean Patrick. I'll be more careful."

oOo

Patrick noisily sipped at the fresh brew. "Excellent as always, Lisa. Much thanks. I got an early wake up call to review what we got last night." He leaned back looking very satisfied. "It was pure gold!"

Lisa and Cho exchanged glances and leaned forward waiting for Patrick to continue. He smiled and winked at Lisa, still looking pleased. Cho and Lisa exchanged glances again. Cho glared at Patrick. "Give," he said.

"Give? Give? What do you want me to give?" His widening grin made it clear that he fully realized how irritating he was being.

Lisa again glanced at Cho. "Patrick," she said, "when you knocked on the door, interrupting us, I might add, Kimball wanted to shoot you. " She smiled as a play of emotions made it clear that he realized, that considering the circumstances, that really could be true. "I suggested that he not do that." The looked at each other, both smiling slightly. Lisa continued, "Was I wrong?"

Patrick laughed out loud. "Don't let this one get away, Cho. She's a keeper!" Turning to Lisa, "I sure hope not. So, as Cho so delicately put it I will _give_." He took a sip or tea and continued.

"Some of the documents that the virus uncovered link to Mark Vincent to some major irregularities in some of his state level bids. The sort of irregularities than can get you sent to jail. Further more, there is sufficient evidence, that interpreted one way, could indicate his complicity in a murder. Enough to get CBS13 interested. And since Tunite does business across state lines, the FBI is very interested, now, too. Right about now, Mark Vincent is probably doing the perp walk to a police cruiser!"

"Oh that sure sounds good, but how does that help my Dad and I?"

"First of all, none of this is connected to you or your father. Here's the good part," Jane smiled, "One of the irregular bids is the mall that Tunite wanted to build on the land your father was researching. About now, that project is deader than last years Easter eggs. End of story."

Lisa looked relieved. "Wow, just like that." She frowned. "What about that phone bank account in my father's name?"

"Yes, that could have been a loose end, but it seems that those funds were routed through several proxies to purchase some gold certificates held a very reliable and discreet financial house in Switzerland. He handed her a printed document. This is your account number and pass code to the 26 pounds of gold that you now own."

Lisa took the document and stared at it. Her face mirrored the shock she felt. "Twenty six pounds. Mine?"

"Gold is good stuff. It's not an investment that really grows, but it does keep pace with inflation and everyone loves it. It's convertible to any currency you want, so you can go anywhere in the world."

"But that's a lot of money and it's not really mine."

"You're right. It's not really yours. It belongs to anyone who has that number and password." He grinned. "That's you. You might want to keep that safe."

Lisa seemed to be in shock. "I don't know what to say, Mr. Jane... I mean Patrick. I've gone from a student to an almost murder victim to someone with 26 pounds of gold. It doesn't feel real."

"Oh, it's real, Lisa, but right now, I'll leave you and Cho to celebrate." He turned to Cho. "I guess I should say _as you were!"_. He strode to the door, carefully turned the privacy lock, and left the room.

Lisa met Cho's eyes and he smile at her. "I told you he was good," Cho said.

She nodded. "Yes, and you were right. What now?"

"Now, we do like the man said. We celebrate." He pulled the drawstring on his sweats and allowed them to fall to the floor."

"Oh," she said pulling off his tee shirt. "It looks like you're more than ready to celebrate!"

oOOOo

**A/N: Don't you love it when a plan comes together?**


End file.
